Anyone so fed up with airline prices that you are actually considering driving?

[Lewisc]

One of us needs new glasses, probably me. I don't see your 60 minute number anywhere in your post. I interpreted your post as saying you only left 100 minutes before your flight if you were checking luggage and planning on getting something to eat.

Without the extra 60 minutes your numbers are very "aggressive".

I didn't ignore the 60 minutes, I didn't see it.

No, I think you are misinterpreting it. I allow 25 minutes for driving to park & fly and taking the shuttle. I allow another 15 minutes for checking baggage. That is on top of the 60 minutes I allow before the flight. Add 25+15+60 and you get 100 minutes, which is what I use to tell me the time I need to leave my house.

What I didn't include is the fact that if we want something to eat, we get something to take on the plane, and arriving a solid hour before our flight gives us time to get something. Usually one of us goes to get food while the other takes the kid to the restroom.



No, read again. I said we allow 25 minutes to drive to park & fly and take the shuttle. We ADD ON 15 minutes is we are checking baggage. What you are seemingly choosing to ignore is the part where I take the time for park & fly/driving AND the time for baggage check and adding that to 60 minutes, the magic number that represents arriving 1 hour before the flight.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

My husband bought a new SUV with navigation so while we were playing with it, I put in "Walt Disney World." Turns out the drive down for us wouldn't be 24 hours. It would be 23 hours, 6 minutes. I think I'll continue to let Southwest do the driving.

I entered our address into mapquest. From home to MK would be 'only' 16.5 hours. Of course that doesn't take into account stopping for meals and restroom breaks, traffic delays, weather delays, etc.
After our last drive to Williamsburg (6 hrs) I told dh after 2 hours into the ride, "If we were flying to FL we'd have been there by now." We hadn't even passed DC!

 

[taitai]

Interesting thread. It would NEVER occur to me to drive but to each his own. I think the algorithm is a bit more extensive, though, than some people have factored. It isn't just gas and tolls. It is wear and tear on the car. If it is a 2000 mile round trip drive, how long would it take you to put that many miles on the car in normal day to day life? So, plan on replacing the car, tires, scheduled maintenance, etc, that much sooner.

Also, vacation days have value. If driving causes one to take more vacation days (as opposed to shortening a trip), then those costs need to be factored in to the equation. Vacation days can be converted into cash if you lose your job or leave your job. For us, no matter how expensive a flight might be, it does not rival the value of a vacation day. It never makes sense, in our math, to eat up a vacation day to drive. The numbers don't work that way. In the end, it would cost us money to drive. That might not be the case for others. Everyone's math is different.

So, good luck with all your decisions and drive safe!

 

[ssawka]

I entered our address into mapquest. From home to MK would be 'only' 16.5 hours. Of course that doesn't take into account stopping for meals and restroom breaks, traffic delays, weather delays, etc.
After our last drive to Williamsburg (6 hrs) I told dh after 2 hours into the ride, "If we were flying to FL we'd have been there by now." We hadn't even passed DC!

Yes, MapQuest may say 16.5 hours, but that does not include traffic. Unless you are traveling through the night, forget about it! There is no way you would make it in MapQuest time heading down I-95.

How difficult driving in depends on where you live (and I don't just mean distance!) If you are on the east coast, I would avoid driving if you don't have to. You could not pay me enough to drive all the way to Fl down I-95.

 

[ssawka]

I have booked train tickets instead of plane tickets in the past: the train fare was cheaper, I didn't have to pay to take my luggage, there is plenty of leg room, and I could use my computer when the person in front of me had their seat reclined.

I was going to suggest the train or drive/train combination, especially if you are on the east coast. We live about 5 miles from Lorton, VA and could easily take the AutoTrain. I've looked into it before and at the times it was about the same price as air, if you just got a coach seat and you travel through the night. I would seriously consider it, but DD is still a bit too young to stick her on a train for 14 hours and to get a sleeping cabin is just too expensive. Maybe when she gets a bit older.

[Edit] Actually I just looked, and it is like $600 more for the AutoTrain for our trip in July, but that could be because we are only a little over a month out. Also, we will be renting a car this trip at $244 and the AutoTrain does include meals. It is worth looking at if you are going to rent a car anyway.

 

[mrodgers]

Interesting thread. It would NEVER occur to me to drive but to each his own. I think the algorithm is a bit more extensive, though, than some people have factored. It isn't just gas and tolls. It is wear and tear on the car. If it is a 2000 mile round trip drive, how long would it take you to put that many miles on the car in normal day to day life? So, plan on replacing the car, tires, scheduled maintenance, etc, that much sooner.

Also, vacation days have value. If driving causes one to take more vacation days (as opposed to shortening a trip), then those costs need to be factored in to the equation. Vacation days can be converted into cash if you lose your job or leave your job. For us, no matter how expensive a flight might be, it does not rival the value of a vacation day. It never makes sense, in our math, to eat up a vacation day to drive. The numbers don't work that way. In the end, it would cost us money to drive. That might not be the case for others. Everyone's math is different.

So, good luck with all your decisions and drive safe!

Ok....

Flying - it is currently $1104 for the 4 of us to fly (southwest.) It is 1090 miles one way. Cost for the 4 not including luggage because I have no idea on that stuff, $0.41 per mile.

The car. I will do an oil change every 8-10,000 miles for $25. Tires last 50-60,000 miles at about $450. Brakes on the POS Ford will last about 25,000 miles. Cost about $50 for new pads. I don't expect to change rotors again on this vehicle since I've gotten rid of the Ford garbage. Exhaust is another probably 50k for $200. What other kinds of wear is there that a 2000 mile trip will be important on a 200,000 mile vehicle? Ok, I guess shock absorbers. Similar to the exhaust.

So, maintenance wise, it will be roughly $0.022 per mile, or $48 for the 2182 mile trip. Gas at 24 mpg (estimating, I would expect more going from long work commutes to straight highway miles) and $2.75/gallon will be $250. That gives me a total of roughly $290 driving the 4 of us. I have a hotel res. for $94 on the way down and we will wing it on the way home, so I'll estimate another $94.

Total driving comes to $486, or compared to the $0.41 per mile of flying, $0.22 per mile for driving.

Now we look at time. Flying, the earliest now I see is arrival at MCO at 3:15 pm. I don't care how long it is, that is the arrival time. Driving, we will stay in Savannah, GA and leave early for a short drive to Disney. I'll be at Pop Century I estimate at noon. I will be at my resort earlier by driving than I will by flying. We are going for 6 nights whether we fly or not. We will have a longer vacation by driving as we will be there earlier.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I am confused, just did my parents air yesterday and for the 3 adults leaving nj aug 21 and departing fl aug 27th it was $1600
Why so expensive? Did I do something wrong? The flight out it 11 AM the flight coming home is 12:45 in the afternoon. On both flights the seating was very limited, my mother will only fly continental out of Newark.

DF, DD, and I are driving, this should be interesting.

 

[Brian Noble]

$530/person seems *really* high for August, even in the current market conditions. I could get nonstop flights for President's Week out of Detroit right now for only $425/person, and February is *much* higher demand to Florida from the upper midwest than August is. I'd imagine the same is true for NY/NJ.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

$530/person seems *really* high for August, even in the current market conditions. I could get nonstop flights for President's Week out of Detroit right now for only $425/person, and February is *much* higher demand to Florida from the upper midwest than August is. I'd imagine the same is true for NY/NJ.

Yeah, like what the heck is going on, someone said b/c the flights were both pretty much booked?
I just hope that *I* didn't do something wrong in the booking process. We've gone the past 2 years and have flown and I think when I add those 2 years up it doesn't even come to $1600, thats close to our stay at a value.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ok....

Flying - it is currently $1104 for the 4 of us to fly (southwest.) It is 1090 miles one way. Cost for the 4 not including luggage because I have no idea on that stuff, $0.41 per mile.

The car. I will do an oil change every 8-10,000 miles for $25. Tires last 50-60,000 miles at about $450. Brakes on the POS Ford will last about 25,000 miles. Cost about $50 for new pads. I don't expect to change rotors again on this vehicle since I've gotten rid of the Ford garbage. Exhaust is another probably 50k for $200. What other kinds of wear is there that a 2000 mile trip will be important on a 200,000 mile vehicle? Ok, I guess shock absorbers. Similar to the exhaust.

So, maintenance wise, it will be roughly $0.022 per mile, or $48 for the 2182 mile trip. Gas at 24 mpg (estimating, I would expect more going from long work commutes to straight highway miles) and $2.75/gallon will be $250. That gives me a total of roughly $290 driving the 4 of us. I have a hotel res. for $94 on the way down and we will wing it on the way home, so I'll estimate another $94.

Total driving comes to $486, or compared to the $0.41 per mile of flying, $0.22 per mile for driving.

Now we look at time. Flying, the earliest now I see is arrival at MCO at 3:15 pm. I don't care how long it is, that is the arrival time. Driving, we will stay in Savannah, GA and leave early for a short drive to Disney. I'll be at Pop Century I estimate at noon. I will be at my resort earlier by driving than I will by flying. We are going for 6 nights whether we fly or not. We will have a longer vacation by driving as we will be there earlier.

Yes, you'll get there 3 hrs earlier but if you flew, you'd be sleeping in that day instead of driving since the day before.
If the time you leave the house stayed same and time you arrive back home was same, you'd spend more time in Disney and more nights at the Disney hotel if you flew instead of 2 of those nights at a Georgia hotel.
Also 8-10k for each oil change is way too infrequent. Most manufacturers recommend at least every 5k or every 3k if driving in more harsh conditions or towing.
For that $500 savings still wouldn't be worth my time and aggravation.
Southwest doesn't charge any baggage fees unless you check more than 2 bags pp. That would be a ridiculous amount of luggage imho.

I am confused, just did my parents air yesterday and for the 3 adults leaving nj aug 21 and departing fl aug 27th it was $1600
Why so expensive? Did I do something wrong? The flight out it 11 AM the flight coming home is 12:45 in the afternoon. On both flights the seating was very limited, my mother will only fly continental out of Newark.

DF, DD, and I are driving, this should be interesting.

There's your answer. When you limit yourself like that, you get whatever 1 company offers. We have so many options in the NE, why be so limited?
For us it's .5 hr to PHL or about 1 hr to AC. That alone gives me at least 4 airlines to choose from. We have even driven the 2 hrs to Baltimore to get a good deal. Still waaay easier than driving.
My brother lives in Somerset County and Newark would be his closest airport but they fly out of Philly for much lower fares. Even though it's just the 2 of them, they feel it's worth it. ymmv.

eta: Your dates are only around 10 weeks from now. Except for business flyers, most vacationers have been planning/booking that date since last fall. As supply dwindles, demand increases, price increases. Same as booking a Disney cruise. I try to always book as soon as dates are released since it usually only goes up, and rarely down. With DCL that means 2 years in advance. I'm so used to it now that 11 mos out isn't even far into the future to me. jmho

 

[taitai]

Ok....

Flying - it is currently $1104 for the 4 of us to fly (southwest.) It is 1090 miles one way. Cost for the 4 not including luggage because I have no idea on that stuff, $0.41 per mile.

The car. I will do an oil change every 8-10,000 miles for $25. Tires last 50-60,000 miles at about $450. Brakes on the POS Ford will last about 25,000 miles. Cost about $50 for new pads. I don't expect to change rotors again on this vehicle since I've gotten rid of the Ford garbage. Exhaust is another probably 50k for $200. What other kinds of wear is there that a 2000 mile trip will be important on a 200,000 mile vehicle? Ok, I guess shock absorbers. Similar to the exhaust.

So, maintenance wise, it will be roughly $0.022 per mile, or $48 for the 2182 mile trip. Gas at 24 mpg (estimating, I would expect more going from long work commutes to straight highway miles) and $2.75/gallon will be $250. That gives me a total of roughly $290 driving the 4 of us. I have a hotel res. for $94 on the way down and we will wing it on the way home, so I'll estimate another $94.

Total driving comes to $486, or compared to the $0.41 per mile of flying, $0.22 per mile for driving.

Now we look at time. Flying, the earliest now I see is arrival at MCO at 3:15 pm. I don't care how long it is, that is the arrival time. Driving, we will stay in Savannah, GA and leave early for a short drive to Disney. I'll be at Pop Century I estimate at noon. I will be at my resort earlier by driving than I will by flying. We are going for 6 nights whether we fly or not. We will have a longer vacation by driving as we will be there earlier.

Confused about the last part. Going 6 nights either fly or drive. So, does that mean by driving you are shortening your time at Disney by two nights (the two hotel nights on the drive) or does it mean that you will be taking two extra vacation days (at a cost of X$ per day) in order to stay at Disney the full 6 days?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Confused about the last part. Going 6 nights either fly or drive. So, does that mean by driving you are shortening your time at Disney by two nights (the two hotel nights on the drive) or does it mean that you will be taking two extra vacation days (at a cost of X$ per day) in order to stay at Disney the full 6 days?

This is what I was trying to say too but yours sounds so much better than mine.

 

[mrodgers]

6 nights in Disney no matter how we drive. I take 2 extra days off work to drive or I don't, it's still Sunday through Saturday in Disneyworld (we are both actually off Friday through Monday.) How does taking 2 extra days of vacation off amount to adding to the cost? What would add to the cost is added to the cost of flying if you assume the travel days can be changed to resort days. Now we would be looking at paying for 2 more days of Disney on top of the $700 or whatever it was extra to fly. Looked it up, it would be another $600 on top of the extra $700 to fly.

Oh, and I use only Mobil One synthetic in my good vehicle, thus changing oil every 8-10,000 miles. Usually 10k on that vehicle and 5k on my 185k mile work runner with Castrol GTX (not synthetic.) You go ahead and keep changing that oil every 3000 miles. That work runner vehicle will be the 4th vehicle I'll had to replace due to rust from our salty winter roads far sooner than any high cost mechanical repair bills come.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

6 nights in Disney no matter how we drive. I take 2 extra days off work to drive or I don't, it's still Sunday through Saturday in Disneyworld (we are both actually off Friday through Monday.) How does taking 2 extra days of vacation off amount to adding to the cost? What would add to the cost is added to the cost of flying if you assume the travel days can be changed to resort days. Now we would be looking at paying for 2 more days of Disney on top of the $700 or whatever it was extra to fly. Looked it up, it would be another $600 on top of the extra $700 to fly.

Oh, and I use only Mobil One synthetic in my good vehicle, thus changing oil every 8-10,000 miles. Usually 10k on that vehicle and 5k on my 185k mile work runner with Castrol GTX (not synthetic.) You go ahead and keep changing that oil every 3000 miles. That work runner vehicle will be the 4th vehicle I'll had to replace due to rust from our salty winter roads far sooner than any high cost mechanical repair bills come.

I'm not saying change your travel days to resort days. That would make it a longer vacation and of course would cost more but if you were flying, you wouldn't need to take off Friday before or Monday after and would still be able to add 2 more resort days (if desired) leaving Sat am and returning Sunday. or even add 3 Disney nights if you flew down Friday night after work, still without having to take off Friday or Monday. Yes, that would add to the cost but you'd also have a longer vacation, not just time on the road.

Or just keep the same Disney nights Sunday to Saturday but know that you have Saturday home doing whatever and Sunday after you'd have woke up in your own bed and have a day off to unwind or catch up before returning to work Monday. (unpack, cut grass, grocery shop, read mail, etc.)

For fewer days at Disney, you use 2 more vacation days than us flyers. How much is that worth to you? To me that's 2 days pay for me, and 2 for dh.
To put it another way, that's 4 days of one of us being able to stay home at Christmas when kids are off school.

 

[taitai]

That is my point. You need to take two extra vacation days and you need to factor those into the cost. Vacation days have value. They can be converted into cash when you leave your job. Also, I know many, many people who are banking as many as possible due to the uncertain job market. Having vacation days paid out can be extremely useful if you lose your job. So, they should be factored into the cost analysis. They may be too valuable to squander on driving. If the cost of a day's pay is more than the cost difference in your fly/drive then you should fly and keep the vacation days to use later.


Also, they can be used for other events that might be more meaningful than driving to Disney (the previous posters Christmas with the kids example). That is why I was asking if you had factored those into your math.

 

[mrodgers]

I've never worked anywhere that you can bank your vacation days. We can "sell-back" up to a weeks worth at the end of the year if they aren't used. If we leave the job for any reason, those unused vacation days are lost. You don't get to cash them in.

Oh, about Christmas, I take 3-4 vacation days to cover our annual shutdown from around the week before Christmas through New Years. I work for an automotive supplier, thus we follow along with the automotive industry which shuts down for the final part of the year. We've moved holidays from around the rest of the year and get Dec. 24, 25, 26, 31, and Jan. 1 off for holidays. With weekends, that gives me using about 4 vacation days on average to have December 20 through January 1st off.

There is no reason to try to justify to those who drive why flying is better. I explained why I plan to drive. You want to explain why you fly that is fine, but your reasons are not justified for me and I don't understand why flyers on this board are constantly trying to justify to the drivers why it is better.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm not saying change your travel days to resort days. That would make it a longer vacation and of course would cost more but if you were flying,

Actually, if the resort is a Value property, the poster could add a night at Walt Disney World on each end of trip for about the same $94 per night that they're planning to spend on a chain hotel/'wing it' hotel while driving. And that poster apparently isn't planning to eat anything on the two-day journey in either direction

 

[mupt02]

We are drivers to begin with, but when I last priced out airfare, it was cheaper to drive. We have a 28 hour drive that we will spread over 3-4 days. Even including hotels, gas, and food it works out to be cheaper. By the time we had to add in parking at the airport, baggage fees, and a rental car, it just isn't worth it. Plus, we are traveling with 3 little ones so avoiding the hassle is an added bonus.

We make the drive part of the vacation. We will stop to see things. Get out and play when we want to. We enjoy our road trips.

 

[Lewisc]

A lot of people who post on internet discussion groups think their way of doing things is the only way or best way. Some people think you're crazy if you don't stay at a WDW resort others think you're crazy paying the money for onsite when an offsite condo gives you so much more room for next to nothing. A lot of people don't appreciate the fact that some people can make an intelligent decision and do things differently.

$25 for a Mobile 1 oil change (oil and filter) sounds low, even if you do it yourself. Otherwise your points make sense. I wouldn't drive but if I was in your exact circumstances I might.

Flying should cost more then driving.

I do have an issue when drivers think an energy drink will let them safely drive overnight. I've questioned drivers who plan on driving all night at arriving at WDW as early as 6a. No guarantee they'll get a room that early. Do they really want to have to crash by the pool.

I think those are the kinds of issues that may help some people make a decision.

6 nights in Disney no matter how we drive. I take 2 extra days off work to drive or I don't, it's still Sunday through Saturday in Disneyworld (we are both actually off Friday through Monday.) How does taking 2 extra days of vacation off amount to adding to the cost? What would add to the cost is added to the cost of flying if you assume the travel days can be changed to resort days. Now we would be looking at paying for 2 more days of Disney on top of the $700 or whatever it was extra to fly. Looked it up, it would be another $600 on top of the extra $700 to fly.

Oh, and I use only Mobil One synthetic in my good vehicle, thus changing oil every 8-10,000 miles. Usually 10k on that vehicle and 5k on my 185k mile work runner with Castrol GTX (not synthetic.) You go ahead and keep changing that oil every 3000 miles. That work runner vehicle will be the 4th vehicle I'll had to replace due to rust from our salty winter roads far sooner than any high cost mechanical repair bills come.

 

[taitai]

I've never worked anywhere that you can bank your vacation days. We can "sell-back" up to a weeks worth at the end of the year if they aren't used. If we leave the job for any reason, those unused vacation days are lost. You don't get to cash them in.

Oh, about Christmas, I take 3-4 vacation days to cover our annual shutdown from around the week before Christmas through New Years. I work for an automotive supplier, thus we follow along with the automotive industry which shuts down for the final part of the year. We've moved holidays from around the rest of the year and get Dec. 24, 25, 26, 31, and Jan. 1 off for holidays. With weekends, that gives me using about 4 vacation days on average to have December 20 through January 1st off.

There is no reason to try to justify to those who drive why flying is better. I explained why I plan to drive. You want to explain why you fly that is fine, but your reasons are not justified for me and I don't understand why flyers on this board are constantly trying to justify to the drivers why it is better.

Interesting. I have never worked anywhere where you can't take the vacation as cash when you leave. Isn't it illegal to keep it as it is earned income? I would be surprised if an employer can keep the cash as the employee already earned it. I would look into that.

I don't think one way is better than another. That has never been my position. My position is solely that the cost analysis is more than just gas and tolls. There are other costs involved including vacation days, wear and tear on the auto, etc. Still might decide to drive or fly or whatever but the math is a bit more complicated than just gas, tolls and hotel.

Have a safe drive